LAPIS :Chapter 1:

"Alright Men, welcome to Gelus."

I blink in surprise, taken back by surprise as the hatch door in front of my group opens wide. At first the light inside is blinding, causing most of us to cover our eyes until they’re able to adjust. After a moment, I finally look up, and my eyes widen at the grand site. The hall is wide, lighted with bright white rod lights lining the walls, larger ones above hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling is about fifteen feet tall, looking to have symbols etched into the steel. Stepping inside, our footsteps echo in a strange chorus of rubber soles, though no is very bothered by it, each of us gawking as we are enveloped in the strong presence Gelus has.

"This base was established around 2200, during the time of the Great Uniting, as a symbol to the rest of the world that we would be able to return to a stable and peaceful world. . . ." the Captain leading us starts to explain.

"Hey Goro, look over there," Cent whispers, nudging me.

"What?" I reply, looking over to where he's gesturing.

My eyes soon land on the window of one of the rooms lining the walls. From what I can see, there's an Altuvalen woman, an Ambassador from what I can tell from her uniform, with a man probably in his mid-30s. I mean, that's normal, considering that since the Terrestrial Peace Pact, many of our allies from the other societies of the Universe come to visit the bases here on Earth. Many have even joined our military and risen in the ranks to be Vesperian and Orien Commanders. Though, it's the man that must have caught Cent's eye. At first look, he looks like any other man, but take another look, and you see that the man has tattoos on both sides of his face, and even though the window is tinted, it seems that the man's eyes are. . . . yellow. Though humans are much more advanced nowadays, the basics of our looks and genetics has not really changed. Our eyes are normal colors; Blue, Brown, Green, and then the usual in-betweens, such as hazel, blue green, grey, and even black. Yellow is not in there.

"Now Gentlemen, each of you have your own strengths and your own weaknesses. But, here at Gelus, we will train you at a much more advanced rate, and will be sure to make you masters in your own areas," he continues.

"Weird, wasn't it?" Cent says.

"It wasn't that odd, it was probably just the tinting of the glass," I whisper back, trying to think logically.

Yeah, it was just the window. That makes more sense. . . .

Cent gives me his signature "You gotta be joking" stare, meaning he doesn't believe me; not one bit. I roll my eyes and look forward, surprised to I find our group is walking towards another large hanger door at the end of the hall we've been walking down. On the door is a simple inscription, in what I'm guessing is Latin.

It says “Milites Altorum, Populus Heri”, probably describing whatever is on the other side of the door.

"All of you standing before me today will make great names for yourselves, some of you will make fame across the galaxies of our Universe," the Captain continues, his eyes meeting mine, and he gives a small grin, "I wish all of you the best of luck. Now, it's time I introduce you to some beings that you will be living with here at Gelus."

"Wow, he's really gonna show us the top secret soldiers without running our identities or any of that other shit they did back at Liber," Cent comments.

"Cent, be quiet," I whisper.

"Seriously, do you not remember when we first got there?" Cent continues, "They made us give thumb prints so we could get bagels!"

"Cent-" I start.

"And they weren't even good bagels. Ugh, they tasted like toasted cardboard-" he keeps ranting.

With that, I swiftly find a pressure point on his back, and with no remorse to give, I press it. Instantly, he shuts up, trying to keep his knee from giving as it usually does when I do it, his teeth clenched. I smirk, knowing I won the squabble.

The door in front of us begins to open. "Meet the Jeweloids," the Captain says, stepping over to the side.

With that, we all stand in anticipation for these "Jeweloids". At first, when the door opens, we don't see anything. Then, without warning, we’re consumed in a bright white light from what I assume may be a major explosion. We all automatically cringed into ourselves, not expecting such an abrupt shock. Though, that’s hardly the end of it, as it’s not long before we’re all slammed with an extreme energy blast.

Now, in the group, there's about 30 guys, including Cent and I. Upon impact, only four of us still remain standing. I am somehow able to stand pretty solid without much struggle, as my body knows how to react to this pressure, although I've only experienced something like this once before. Cent, on the other hand, seems to be using all his strength to keep from falling to his knees beside me, his fists tight, and his expression showing strain as beads of sweat forms on his brows. The other two guys around us are panting, doing even worse than Cent is at this point. One barely even qualifies to even be called standing, considering he is hunched over with his hand on his knees. I look back up, and like myself, the Captain doesn’t appear very phased. He grins at me, then grins at Cent and the other guys that are still up.

"Well, it seems you few are strong. You have to be if you want to be able to withstand a Power Shock," the Captain says, stepping closer, "Especially you, young man."

I blink, shocked that he's addressing me.

"Yes Sir?" I say.

"I've never seen a new recruit that was able to withstand the blast as you just did. Have you ever met a Jeweloid before. . . ." the Captain trails off, unsure what my name is.

"I'm 1st Rank Warrant Officer Isugoro Jintez, Sir," I say, saluting him.

He nods, allowing me to go into at ease, grinning brighter. "Well Officer Jintez, have you?" he asks.

"No Sir," I answer simply.

The Captain chuckles, "Well, you're about to."

"Captain Sumpti."

I blink, as does the Captain, both of us turning around to see a man saluting him. My eyes widen in shock as I lay my eyes on him.

It's the same man from earlier, except now I can see him clearly. His eyes are most definitely yellow, dashing any of my rational ideas that I had put forward earlier. His hair is silver, a gold tint to it, and the tattoos that I had seen before now look like lightning bolts in a way against his pale skin. He looks over at me, and chuckles.

"What, something in my teeth son?" he asks, his voice low, but gentle.

"N-No Sir," I stutter, embarrassed that I was caught staring.

He laughs, and takes hold of my shoulder, his grip strong as he shakes me some. "Boy, relax, I'm just messing with you. You'll have to loosen up if you want to be able to work with my friends and I," the man replies.

"Excuse me, Sir?" I question.

"Officer Jintez, this is my good friend Major Kasami, or Jeweloid 002, GOLD." Captain Sumpti says, his gesturing to the man beside him.

I blink.

"So wait, he's one of the special soldiers, Sir?" I ask.

The Major nods.

"That's right," he replies with an amused smile.

"But, you're human, Sir," Cent comments out of the blue, finally over the shock.

The Major looks over at him, and laughs. "What? Were you expecting some robotic looking Terrestrial?" he asks.

"Yes," Cent replies honestly, nodding.

In response, both the Major and the Captain start laughing hysterically, while I rub my temple. I swear, this guy will never grow up, even with his military training, he still acts like what he did when he was ten years old.

"Well Son, what are you good at?" the Major asks, acknowledging Cent now.

"Engineering, Sir." Cent answers.

"Well then, seems you and I will be getting to know each other quite well," the Captain says, "I run the Weapon Development department, and I could use a man like you."

Cent instantly grins, obviously happy to hear something intriguing from this man, as it seems he's been drifting in and out since we got here.

"That would be great, Sir," Cent says, a change of liveliness in his tone.

The Captain grins, then looks around, seeing that finally, all of the other men are up.

"Alright, GOLD will explain Jeweloids to you," the Captain says, before gesturing to the Major.

With that, the Major steps forward, clearing his voice as he looks over us. "To all of you, I look like a normal man, with a few mutations in the hair and eyes, and other physical features. But, in truth, I'm nothing like you," the Major starts.

My brow, like many others, furrows, confused by the statement.

"Anyway, there are a few things that you should know about Jeweloids," he continues, "One: No Jeweloid is the same, each of us has our own personality, and our own abilities. Some of us are stronger physically, others mentally, and others, as you just saw, energetically. Two: . . . Each Jeweloid . . . was once a human being."

Our eyes widen. Personally, I wasn’t expecting anything like this. I thought that the new soldiers were some type of robotic or artificial intelligence. How can advanced beings like I’ve read about have once been human?

"Take myself for instance. I was human, I had brown skin, green eyes, and my hair was most definitely not silver," the Major says as he plays with some of his silver ponytail, causing some of us to chuckle, myself not included, "But really, I am not human, I am of a species all its own. Even though I look somewhat the same, I am not. Three: Jeweloids are hundreds of years old."

Alright, what?

"I myself am 846 years old, I was born in what's currently Calor of the Aesta Island chain; Maui, Hawaii when I was human. Then one day during vacation in Vancouver, I fell through some ice, and I was instantly frozen by the Gold Recalor atoms in the water, and now, I am a Jeweloid, trying to help Vesperia thrive." the Major says.

This time, I’m not the only one flabbergasted by what we were just told, as it seems when I look around, some are wide-eyed, and there are more jaws dropped then I've ever seen in my life. I turn back to face the front, and see that the Major is somewhat smirking.

Then, I hear chuckling beside me, and I look over to see Cent is quietly laughing. His expression isn’t one of light humor, more confusion and strain, which I can understand. Cent is a very logical person, not to mention realistic. So, for something like this to be thrown at him, especially on our first day, is probably a very abstract concept for him to grasp.

"Cent-" I start.

"T-This is a joke, isn't it?" Cent says, obviously very perplexed, "I've done this tones of times with newbies at Liber, you're most definitely pulling a prank."

Yeah, that makes sense. . . . This is all just a prank . . . just a prank. . . .

The Captain and Major watch us for a few moments, quiet as they let Cent’s reaction sink in. Though the Major soon sighs, his expression a bit heavier as he meets Cent’s gaze. "Son, you're thick headed," the Major says, "Unfortunately, I'm not joking. Everything I've told you is absolutely true." Cent's forced calm fades, his composure cracking slightly to expose that he's beyond confused, and will probably not be able to take another explanation. All fall quiet for a minute, before the Major breaths deeply, looking to the rest of us. "Follow us," the Major instructs, walking through the doorway.

As one blob, we move after the Major and the Captain. Even from behind, the two look very dignified, standing tall with their shoulders squared. Keeping in step with the Major, the Captain looks back at the group, his eyes pinned on Cent and I.

"Jintez, Engineer, come here," the Captain says, gesturing to both of us to come forward.

Cent and I look at one another, before we move through the group, coming to stand right behind the two head officers. "What's your name, Engineer?" the Major asks, apparently already passed the awkward encounter of a few minutes ago.

"Uh, I'm Command Sergeant Major Cent Armasons, Sir," Cent answers, a bit hesitant.

"Well then, Jintez, Armasons, you two have appealed the most to us," the Captain says, looking back at us with a grin.

Cent and I perk up. After the back and forth, I don’t think either of us were expecting them to be fans. "We're honored to hear you say that, Sir," I answer, feeling a bit better about myself.

The Major smiles as his eyes lock on me. "Well, I may have you working with me Jintez. I've been looking for someone who could become a type of assistant to me, and learn more about Jeweloids," the Major says, raising an eyebrow, "You up for it young man?"

I nod instantly. "Y-Yes Sir, of course, Sir," I say, smiling brighter than I have in a long time.

This is exactly what I was hoping for . . . a chance to work up close with these guys . . . !

"Alright then, I'll take you to my quarters once we're done with the tour," Major says, before turning back to address everyone, "Gentlemen, this is the Jeweloid Sector. Here, they train, learn modern history, and basically learn everything you know now. Though there are many male Jeweloids, the majority of our Jeweloids are female."

"Score," Cent comments.

"Cent, we aren't here to flirt," I retort.

"What? You have to admit that it'll be awesome once we get some our first Jeweloid girls," Cent says.

"Unfortunately, that won't be possible Armasons," the Captain says, overhearing our conversation.

"What do you mean Sir?" one of the other men in the group say, the first other than Cent or I.

The Captain turns all the way around, and his looks serious, causing all of us to stop. "This is the top law of Gelus, Gentleman. If you are to disobey this law, you will not only be stripped of your current rank, and returned to a Private, but you could face prison," he states with a deeper meaning in his tone. We all blink, looking at one another. After a moment of whispers snaking through the group, he continues, "The top law of Gelus . . . no Human may be in a romantic relationship with a Jeweloid under any circumstances."

"Why, Sir?" Cent asks.

The Captain looks over at him, their eyes meeting.

"Because, Jeweloids cannot have successful intercourse with Humans. Also, there have been horrible situations that have arouse because of the relationship," he explains plainly. Again, we look at each other, the atmosphere very uneasy now as the subject come across. Then, the Captain sighs, "Come Men, follow me to the shooting grounds."

With that, we all stay silent as we're lead though the sector, soon being passed by young women every few moments. Like the Major, they each have bizarre looking hair colors and eyes, even more brilliant against their pale complexions. Though, they definitely aren’t bad looking. In fact, every girl is very pretty, exemplified by Cent, who seems to be in Heaven, checking out each and every one. Though, to his dismay, it seems most of them are more interested in me for some reason, winking and smiling, whispering hello. To their dismay, I simply pass with a grin; nothing more, nothing less. Though, Cent does get quite a few takers, one even putting her barrack number in his hand as she passes, grinning.

It seems the law the Captain was talking about isn’t a favorite among the Jeweloids.

Moving past the thought, I look around to find that we’re now entering a shooting range. The range itself is an amazing sight to see, stretching at least two miles into the distance, not to mention dipping and rising to mimic realistic battle situations. The ceiling is high, about fifty feet up, definitely top of the line for an inside shooting area. Looking straight ahead, we see a Jeweloid at one of the cubbies, her back to us, holding a huge bazooka with a single hand. The first thing you notice about her is her straight burnt orange hair, tied back in a low side ponytail, contrasting against her tanned complexion, the darkest from what I’ve seen so far. Her uniform is yellow and indigo with black trim, her boots similar to the ones I was given for my uniform, though hers are the same bright yellow that's in her uniform. Lastly, and though she's squatting, it’s easy to tell she’s pretty tall, looking to measure around Cent's height.

"Gentlemen, this is Jeweloid 060, QUARTZ. She is our top shooter in the Large Weapons Unit, and today, she's going to help us present one of the amazing things about Jeweloids," the Captain explains, before turning towards her, "QUARTZ, power up."

"Yes, Sir," she replies, looking through the view finder as she lifts the bazooka up to sit it on her shoulder. My eyes widen in surprise as I watch her movements, astonished that she’s hardly phased by the weight of the enormous weapon. Cent on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to that trait. He grins, and leans over to whisper to me.

"She has an accent, must be from the South," he comments.

I fall slightly without thinking. "You know the rule," I reply.

"I know, I know, just saying that it's cute," he answers, trying to claim innocence.

I roll my eyes.

"Now, she's aiming for a target that cannot be seen from where we are currently. Though, using her ability to track, she is able to find it and lock onto it," the Major explains.

"Target sited Sir," she says on Que.

"Prepare for the shot," he answers.

"Yes, Sir." With that, she takes a deep breath, and before long, the atmosphere shifts. The air comes to stand still. Cent and I look at each other, before we begin to see this dim light beginning to form all around her, the hue a light yellow. Her presence begins to spark to life, and within one second the light around her grows to be almost blinding, causing us to shade our eyes with our hands. As this happens, I can see some of the lights on the bazooka lighting up, coming to life with her power. "Full power, Sir," QUARTZ says, "Permission to fire."

"Permission granted," the Captain replies.

"Fire in the hole!" Quartz yells.

With that, she pulls the trigger, causing a great blast of light to fly at almost impossible speeds in the distance, only milliseconds passing before we all see the grand explosion in the distance. The shock wave shoots towards us at lightning speed, the impact much more powerful than the first energy blast we experienced. This time, even Cent goes down, I myself straining to stay standing straight. I start to pant, my body trembling under the pressure. Though, I hear harder panting coming from in front of us, and I look up to see that QUARTZ is on her hands and knees, her bazooka still in the holder.

"Target hit . . . Sir," she says in between breaths.

"Well done QUARTZ, you're off for the rest of the day," the Major says, his voice kind as he walks over to her, "And for your willingness to help, I'm letting you take the day off tomorrow."

She laughs as she looks up at me. "Why thank ya, Sir," she says, taking his hand that's reached out to her, standing.

"Damn, that packed a punch," Cent comments rather loudly, using my arm to help himself stand.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see QUARTZ’s head turn, her face not facing us. I hear a light hearted chuckle, followed shortly by a warm, mezzo toned voice. "Well, I'd hope so, that's one of my best attacks, boy," QUARTZ says, obviously responding to Cent.

Cent smirks, apparently amused by her innocent comeback. "Yeah, yeah, well, that was pretty well done. . . ." Cent starts as he looks up, trailing off all of a sudden. I blink, and glance over at him. What I see is something I honestly wasn’t expecting. He looks totally blind-sided, his eyes wider than normal as he stares straight ahead, not even blinking.

My brow furrows, and I follow his line of sight, surprised by what is on the other end.

Now I am not one to normally be taken by women, but I won’t lie when I admit QUARTZ is very attractive. Her sharp, warm eyes are the same bright hue as her hair, her nose, ears, and bully-button pierced. She has tattooing that frames her eyes and belly-button, looking similar to barbed wire, with small circles in the pattern. Her body is, well, voluptuous, though she definitely carries herself with grace and sophistication that displays her as a smart woman. While one could say she appears edgy, in juxtaposition, she carries an air of warmth and gentleness that just makes her approachable. I grin at her, though she’s too distracted by Cent to notice me.

"Miss. . . ." Cent trails, breaking the silence.

My eyes widen. Cent has never called a girl "Miss" in his whole life, so for him to start now means one thing, and one thing only.

He has a crush.

I nudge him. "Cent," I say strictly. My voice pulls his eyes off her, then meets mine, the sight something I've never seen before. After a moment, he glances back at her, showing an apologetic grin, before his eyes focus back on something in the corner. Her response, is something similar, but a bit more disappointed as she looks down. Oddly enough, neither the Captain nor the Major do anything but watch, at least until the Captain sighs.

"QUARTZ, you are dismissed," the Captain says.

"Yes, Sir," she says with a weaker tone, walking though the group in a way that allows her to pass right next to Cent. She slows slightly as she comes beside him, whispering loud enough only for really the two of us to hear, "My real name is Sammy."

Cent blinks, looking after her for a moment, then grins, turning back to the front. The Captain watches him for a moment, before he breathes a deep breath. "Alright Gentlemen, follow me to the cafeteria, and we'll discuss your diet out here in the mountains," the Captain says, beginning to file us out of the shooting range.

As we begin to walk out, I feel something catch my arm, causing me to turn. I blink in surprise, as it's the Major.

"Sir?-" I start.

"C'mon, I'm taking you to my division," he says, "I’ve already told Captain Sumpti, so follow me."

"Y-Yes Sir," I answer, doing as he says as we turn the opposite way of the rest of the group.

He chuckles. "Son, you can call me Kasami," the Major comments, "I'm not fond of being called by my title by my associates, got that Son?"

I nod, replying, "Alright Si-"

"Eh, what did I just say?" he asks.

I sigh, giving a grin. "Sorry, bad habits die hard, as my mom always says," I say.

He grins, laughing a bit. "My mom said the same thing to me. Guess a few things haven't changed in this world," Kasami comments.

"So, you're really 846 years old?" I find myself asking.

"Yep, I was frozen in the ice for a little over 800 years," he answers, acting totally nonchalant about his words.

"Sounds like Hell,” I comment.

"Well, I don't remember any of the time I was in the ice, neither does any of the other Jeweloids. I just thought I had fallen asleep like I do every night. But then, I found myself surrounded by scientists, all telling me different things, the biggest being that the year is 2997."

I watch him for a few moments. He seems a bit more depressed, probably thinking back about his life, the life he lost. It must be hard.

"I'm sorry Kasami," I say honestly.

He grins bitter sweetly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, Son," he replies.

I grin. "So, what are we gonna be-" Without warning, a high pitched alarm begins sounding from above, almost blasting out my ear drums. "What the hell-!" I start.

"Oh my, this is a Code 054,"Kasami says, his eyes wide as he gestures to me, "Follow me Son, quickly."

"What, why?" I call after him as he runs off ahead.

"We have a new comrade coming in," he says.

"What?-"

"A new Jeweloid has been discovered."

My eyes widen. "R-Really?!" I stutter.

"Yes Son, amazing timing: your first case on your first day," he says with a broad smile.

"Major Kasami!"

We both turn as we see another person running after us, a woman, a Human woman in a white coat. She’s tall, maybe 5’ 8”, though has a rather small figure, with sandy blonde straight hair, cut at an angle, and wears a rectangular pair of glasses, framing her deep emerald eyes. She glances at me for a second, her eyes appearing to widen, though she quickly adverts her eyes, picking up her pace to now be beside Kasami.

"Anyola, what is it?" Kasami asks.

"This is a major one Sir," she says as she brings out a rod, clicking the button on the top to activate the hologram screen. Instantly, a bright screen of multiple spreads appears, each reading different data and other facts. Kasami looks over for only a moment, before he turns his eyes back on the winding passage.

"How major?" Kasami asks, leading us down an adjacent hall.

"This is like a glacier of ice. I have never seen this big of a piece in this program Sir," Anyola comments as she scans the screen.

I look over at Kasami. "How big are the things of ice usually?" I ask.

"Only a bit bigger than a usual person on a normal occasion," Kasami answers, "And if it's big, I know one thing."

"What?" I ask.

"This Jeweloid is going to be strong."

With that, we finally reach a real hanger like chamber, and our eyes widening bigger than I've ever known as we see a great piece of ice hanging from a metal claw above. "Holy . . . crap. . . ." I trail as we walk in, not paying attention as Kasami tells the guards that I'm with him.

"Man, that's not a piece, that's a freaking ice berg," Kasami comments to himself, before he looks over at Anyola, "How should we do this?"

"That's something you're supposed to be figuring out, Sir," Anyola replies.

While they discuss, I look toward the ice in amazement. Then, after a moment, I begin to question my eyes, feeling like I can actually see a mass. I walk forward with my eyes focused on the thing deep within the berg. It's some type of shape, or object, and as I’m finally able to make it out, I realize what it is.

A girl.

She looks to be trying to swim, probably her last attempt to get free before she was encased in the ice. I can't tell what color her hair is, but it seems that even though she's frozen, her hair has actually grown through the air pockets in the ice, showing that her hair is curly. She's wearing a thick coat, snow pants, and furry boots, meaning she must originally from somewhere in the North.

I walk closer, and for some reason, no one stops me, something you would think someone would do, considering this is only my first day. For the first time, I glance away from her, and am shocked to find that without realizing it, I have walked all the way to now be standing right underneath the berg. If there’s any give in the suspension, I'll be as flat as a pancake, though I don’t care. I'm entranced by her, wanting to see her face clearly, though at my current position, all I can see is the underside of her chin.

This girl. . . .

Before I had realize, a strange sensation had sparked to life in my gut, and was now spreading throughout my body. It’s something similar to a feeling I’ve felt before, but I haven’t felt that in years, so if anything, my mind is just playing games with me. My mind is focused solely on the intrigue I feel for the girl above, though as to why I am, well, it’s the same situation as the sensation now beginning to crawl into the higher part of my spine.

"Jintez, you might want to back up, we're going to break the ice," I hear Kasami say from behind me.

"How do you do that?" I reply, still unmoved.

"Well, basically, we take an ice pick, and keep hitting at the surface until it cracks all the way through. Or, if it's thicker, we put it through a heater to melt it, though only until the Jeweloid is near reach, but still fully encased. We don't want to hurt them," Kasami explains.

"Though there have been times when the Jeweloids themselves have been able to get out, but this ice is too thick for this young girl to be able to do something like that," Anyola adds as she still plays with data on the holograph rod.

"How do they do it?" I ask.

"Well, something sparks their power, whether it be a word, or action, but when it happens, the Jeweloid wakes up," Anyola explains.

"Ah. . . ." I trail off, still consumed in my own thoughts.

I wonder who this girl is. . . . Where is she from? . . . When was she born? . . . What's her name?-

"You sure do ask a bunch of questions."

My eyes widen in alarm. I just heard a girl's voice in my head!

"Don't panic, stupid. God, I swear, you're such an idiot.”

It's now I realize I'm not in the same place. I'm outside in the wilderness, in an open field of tall grasses and wild flowers. I've never been to such a place, but it seems nice here. I look to see that the field is surrounded by a lush tree line, and in the distance right in front of me is a waterfall, a mountain top gleaming in the sunlight off in the far distance. I grin as the warm spring breeze blows past my face, the smell that of the near flowers and other plants.

"Hello? Earth to Isugoro."

I blink, and look over my shoulder to see a girl staring at me. My eyes widen as I take her in. She's beautiful, much more stunning than the girls that I passed going through the Jeweloid Sector, even more so than QUARTZ. I can't see much of her lower body, or even her chest, but what I can see dominantly are her striking duel colored eyes, deep blue melting into wisps of yellow near the middle. Her slim, but gently curved cheeks have curly tattoos, telling me that she must be a Jeweloid. I can't tell what color her hair is at the moment, too drawn in by her face.

Though, I’m taken back as she groans in annoyance, rolling her eyes. "Damn, you're annoying, and you won't speak. Now, say something," she says, her middle range voice sewn with fire and elegance.

"S-Sorry," I stutter.

Again she rolls her eyes. "Just follow me, will ya?” she instructs as she turns away, before suddenly disappears.

"H-Hey!" I call, "Come back!"

"Call me by name, idiot!"

"Jintez."

I blink, and look around, finding myself back in the hanger, Kasami looking at me with concern as he and Anyola now stand beside me under the ice. "Y-Yes?" I ask, still a bit unsure of what just happened.

"You weren't responding, you alright?" Kasami asks.

I nod in response. "Yes Sir, I just saw . . ." I trail, finding something implanted in my head from the vision.

He raises an eyebrow. "Saw what, Son?" he asks.

"Sorry, I just have a random name stuck in my head," I say. Again and again, the name runs past my eyes, sounding in my head, irritating the Hell out of me.

"What name?" Kasami asks.

I look up at him.

". . . Maggie," I say.

CRACK!

All of us look up in alarm as we hear the ice above us beginning to shatter, a light forming from inside the ice. We all gape in shock, but it’s not long before Kasami regains his senses, pulling at Anyola and I. "She's woken up!" Kasami calls, "Everyone get back!"

"Sir, she won't be able to break out! It's too thick!" Anyola says as we run out from under the ice.

"I seriously doubt your thinking Anyola," Kasami says, "This girl must be strong. I guess that name was her trigger."

"Maggie?" I say.

Kasami nods. "How'd you know that name, Son?" he asks as we finally reach a safe location, standing behind a steel shelter outfitted with large enforced bullet proof windows.

I shrug. “I’m not sure, Sir," I answer truthfully.

With that, the room goes completely silent. The air falls still, just like it had when QUARTZ had paused before firing. Suddenly, we're all having to get down as the ice literally explodes, flying in huge chunks all over the room. Some hits the wall behind us and lands beside me, my eyes widening in surprise as it seems the ice is glowing, then slowly morphs into a blue mass, yellow specks appearing as it takes on the appearance of a gem stone. I look around, and see that other chunks are doing the same, becoming a more gem like material than the ice it really is. That's when I glance up, my eyes wide as I see the girl suspended in midair by her own power. Though, it’s not long before it looks to be dying out, as the light becomes weaker, dimmer.

"Sir-" I start.

"She's strong," Kasami comments, bewildered in a way by this new comrade.

Then without warning, she begins to fall, still unconscious.

I don't really know what happens next, as the next thing I'm know, I'm panting, and an unconscious girl is cradled in my arms. I guess my instinct to protect kicked in, and I must have caught her, but really, the whole thing is a blur. I shake my head a bit, before looking down at her. My eyes widen in alarm as I register her face. It's the same girl from that vision!

Now, I can tell that her hair is dark blue, the same shade as the gems now lying around us. Her bangs are long, grown far past her cheeks to probably be about to her thighs, the rest of it is probably triple my height. From holding her, I can tell she isn't that tall, maybe 5' 5", maybe 5' 6", and doesn't weigh too much.

I'm enchanted by her . . . who exactly are you Maggie?